Eggnog Cookies

Christmas Cookie #8! I like making eggnog cookies this time of year, but I think that it’s one of the hardest flavors to capture. I have come across eggnog recipes that contain no eggnog at all, and just have some small amount of nutmeg. That doesn’t really taste like eggnog, so I have happy to find this recipe that used eggnog in the dough and in the glaze. There was also a suggestion to add eggnog extract, but I didn’t have any extract.

This cookie has a soft dough, which looks curdled while you are making it, due to the dairy in the dough. It works out as you add the flour and spices, which was a relief. The cookies bake into fairly perfect circles, but they look plain. I wasn’t sure if sprinkling with nutmeg before baking was a good idea, as I didn’t know if you could still see it. I shouldn’t have worried as it was subtle but clear when the cookies were baked.

The glaze really makes these cookies special. It’s very simple, but just right for these cookies, adding additional eggnog flavor. The eggnog I used must be very thick, as I added 3 tablespoons and the glaze hadn’t fully come together. I added more eggnog, and it helped, but being so thick it didn’t help all that much. With the glaze they look great, and I’m really pleased that you can taste the eggnog. These beautiful but easy cookies are perfect for any holiday cookie plate.

Eggnog Cookies
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup butter softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup eggnog
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg yolks
Nutmeg

1 ½ cup powdered sugar
3+ tablespoons eggnog

Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the eggnog, vanilla, and egg yolks, mixing on medium until smooth. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture.

Shape the dough into small balls and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until lightly browned along the edges. Once the cookies have come out of the oven, sprinkle with a small amount of nutmeg.

Once the cookies are cool, make the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and eggnog. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies.

Recipe from The Recipe Critic

Eggnog Sugar Cookies

 

When I think about the cookies I want to make and post in December, I do plan quite extensively. I try to vary flavors and cookies versus bar cookies, and I make sure that the recipes right around Christmas day are very Christmassy (and often British). This year, I had planned an eggnog frosted ginger cookie for today, but when it came time to make them, I just wasn’t interested. With not a lot of extra time, I needed to find something else to bake.

I had been looking online, already thinking about how to approach the recipes I’ll make next year. I started by looking at recipes that I had already marked, and first found a sugar cookie topped with a cherry, but then I found this recipe that was virtually the same with the exception of the addition of eggnog. That sounded festive and it was in some ways similar to the original eggnog recipe that I had planned to make.

This recipe is easy to make, which is great this time of the year, when there is so much happening. The cookies call for ingredients that you likely have, and I had already purchased eggnog for some other recipes. I didn’t have maraschino cherries, but I picked some up while I was at the grocery store. The cherries came in a plastic jar which was fantastic as I know I have broken a glass jar of cherries at least once! These cookies are simple but have a good eggnog and cherry flavor, perfect for the holidays.

Eggnog Sugar Cookies
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup eggnog
1 teaspoon rum
1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
24 maraschino cherries

1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2-3 tablespoons eggnog

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the eggnog and rum and mix again on medium to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together. The dough will be soft.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, using about 1 tablespoon of dough for each cookie. Press a maraschino cherry into the center of each dough ball.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are set and just barely beginning to turn golden around the edges. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the glaze: in a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, nutmeg, and 2 tablespoons eggnog until the mixture is smooth. If required, add additional eggnog to thin the glaze to a drizzling consistency.

Drizzle the glaze over the cookies and allow the glaze to set before serving.

Recipe from Everyday Shortcuts

Gingerbread Eggnog Cheesecake Cups

I make cookies in mini muffin cups all the time. They are usually easy to put together and always look fantastic. The cookies made in mini muffin pans and petite and just a couple of bites. This recipe, on the other hand, is made in a regular muffin cup. That makes for a sizeable cookie! The flavors of gingerbread and eggnog cheesecake is such a winning combination that I couldn’t resist. I did decide to make a half batch, as our house is already full of holiday goodies.

By cutting this recipe half, I made nine big cookies. I’m not sure how the full recipe made two dozen, but they must have used less dough for each cookie. I did measure, using my three-tablespoon cookie scoop, so I’m not sure what happened. A half recipe of the cheesecake filling was also the correct amount for nine or ten cookies, so at least it was consistent? I don’t have a lot of faith in recipe yields, which is why I don’t often provide many specifics about how many cookies a recipe will make.

My husband came into the kitchen when I was making the filling, and I’m certainly an independent baker! He was after the eggnog, which was just silly as this recipe called for such a small amount that it makes little difference in the half-gallon container we bought. Chilling these when they were ready were the biggest challenges of these cookies, but they were worth the wait! These are so good, the great ginger flavor balances with the creamy cheesecake filling. These are the best!

Gingerbread Eggnog Cheesecake Cups
2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg

1 cup heavy cream, cold
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup eggnog
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray two regular-sized muffin tins with nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and molasses on medium until pale. Add the egg and beat on medium to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture.

Scoop about 3 tablespoons of dough into each of the muffin cups, flattening slightly.

Bake for 9-10 minutes, until set, but still soft. Remove from the oven and immediately press the cups down to create a well. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, twisting the cups to ensure that they don’t stick to the pan. Remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Once the cups are cooled, make the filling: in a cold mixer bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a separate bowl. In the same mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Stir in the eggnog, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and pipe into the cookie cups.

Refrigerate for at least two hours to set. Serve cold.

Recipe from Liv for Cake

Eggnog Thumbprints

 One of the flavors I love this time of the year is eggnog. I selected a couple of eggnog recipes this year, this is the second one. What I often find strange with eggnog recipes is that they often don’t call for any eggnog! The first recipe I made had just a tablespoon of eggnog, and this one doesn’t call for any eggnog at all. Many recipes substitute with the flavors of eggnog: rum and nutmeg most specifically.

This cookie recipe is as simple as can be. I do wonder if the cookies need a little bit of leavening, as these cookies were fairly flat. They turned out ok, so I won’t worry about that too much. As these cookies are little more than a butter cookie, you could fill them with anything you’d like. The filling is where the eggnog flavors come into play, in this case containing rum (or rum extract) and freshly grated nutmeg.

The frosting for these thumbprints is a little different. I figured that I would give it a try, but after I had made the frosting with the original 2 cups of powdered sugar, it was way too soft! I added another cup of powdered sugar and that was about right, so you’ll need to adjust the powdered sugar to make sure that your frosting is the right consistency. I grate nutmeg fresh from the seed, which is such a fantastic flavor. While not containing any eggnog, I think these impart a great eggnog flavor, with the nutmeg acting as the shining star.

Eggnog Thumbprints
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, melted
2-3 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons rum
Ground nutmeg

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and stir on medium to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour and salt, mixing just until the dough comes together.

Shape the dough into 1 tablespoon balls. In the top of each cookie, with your thumb or other instruments, make an indentation.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are golden around the edges. If required, reform the indentation in the tops of the cookies. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cookies are cool, make the filling: in a mixer bowl beat the melted butter, powdered sugar, and rum on medium until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe the filling into the indentation in each cookie. Sprinkle with nutmeg to finish.

Recipe from White Lights on Wednesday

Cinnamon Eggnog Cookies

Welcome to Christmastime! This year I plan to bring you 12 different cookie recipes, with the flavors of Christmas such as eggnog, peppermint, molasses, and ginger. I feel like I am a little behind in my baking but I’m sure I will be fine. This first cookie is a nice combination of the flavors of eggnog and cinnamon. I made half the recipe, which made about 2-1/2 dozen cookies.

This recipe originally called for Eggnog Baking Melts. When this recipe was created (2013), Eggnog Baking Melts were a specialty flavor for the holidays. I searched and searched this year, and I found peppermint baking melts but no eggnog. I decided to use vanilla baking melts and add some rum to mimic the eggnog flavor.

These cookies use a different method, in that you melt ingredients, and then add eggs and flour. When I allowed the butter mixture to cool, it solidified. This was distressing, but I let the mixer do its thing with the egg and the mixture looked great. When all the ingredients were mixed together it looked like regular cookie dough. The prominent flavor in these cookies is the vanilla baking melts, so perhaps additional rum was needed! The are a flat, bumpy cookie, but a really interesting one to add to the regular mix of Christmas cookies.

Cinnamon Eggnog Cookies
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon eggnog
10 ounces Wilton Vanilla Baking Melts, divided
1 tablespoon rum
1-1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
5 ounces cinnamon baking chips

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, and eggnog and melt over medium low heat. Once the mixture is melted, add 1 cup baking melts, and continue to heat until smooth. Remove from the heat; transfer the mixture to a large mixer bowl, stir in the rum, and allow to cool to room temperature. Chop the remaining baking melts.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking pans with silicone baking mats.

Once the butter mixture is cool, add the egg and beat on medium for 3 minutes until light. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Once the mixture has come together, stir in the chopped baking melts and the cinnamon chips.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, using about 1 tablespoon per cookie.

Bake for 10-11 minutes, until the cookies are browned along the edges. They may look under baked, but they will set as the cool. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, letting the cookies settle and flatten. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Recipe from Kevin and Amanda

Cashew Bars with Eggnog Glaze

It’s Christmas cookie time! I really love this time of the year, and I have planned what I would like to bake. It’s always interesting to look back and see what I actually end up baking. I inevitably come across some recipe that I end up making instead of what I had planned. That’s ok- baking Christmas cookies is for fun!

On my desk at work, I have one of those page a day calendars and the theme of the calendar is that every day is a holiday. I guess you can find a holiday for anything. I typically look ahead and see if any of the Friday holidays are related to baking or celebrate an ingredient I can use in baking. Most of the time I don’t have luck, but this week, Friday is National Cashew Day. I figured I didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

I found these cookies in a Christmas cookie magazine that you see in the stores this time of year. The original recipe used macadamia nuts, but I knew that I could substitute cashews with no problem. This recipe uses a different method. You typically cream together the butter and sugar, but for these bars you melt the butter and sugar together. That gives the bars a slightly different texture, and the bars are nearly perfectly flat. With the nutmeg and eggnog, these cookies instantly make you think of Christmas.

Cashew Bars with Eggnog Glaze

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup chopped cashews

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon vanilla

About 2 tablespoons eggnog

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” baking pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and butter. Heat over medium heat, stirring until the butter melts. Allow the mixture to cool slightly. Transfer the sugar mixture to a large mixer bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium until combined. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, baking powder, and nutmeg. Stir in the cashews. Spread the dough into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until the edges pull away from the edge of the pan and the bars are slightly browned. Allow the bars to cool on a wire rack before glazing.

Make the glaze: in a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon eggnog. Add additional eggnog until the glaze is the right consistency for drizzling. Drizzle over the cooled bars. Allow the glaze to set before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens Best of Christmas Cookies

Eggnog Snickerdoodles

I really like eggnog, and I love including the flavors of eggnog in Christmas cookies. I have to say though, that some “eggnog” recipes aren’t what I would say resemble eggnog very much at all. I’ve seen recipes where there is a teaspoon of rum extract and that makes it eggnog. Yeah, I don’t think so. Rum and nutmeg? Maybe, as those are the main components, but this recipe with prepared eggnog, rum and nutmeg really fits the bill.

Snickerdoodles were the first cookies that I remember making and they are my favorite. Incorporating the flavors of eggnog into my favorite cookie couldn’t be bad, right? I was actually surprised that I hadn’t made these before! If alcohol isn’t your thing, you could use rum extract or vanilla, but the flavor would change somewhat. I halved the recipe that you see below, and it made 25 cookies.

The dough is a different technique that you use with cookies. You put the dough together more like you would put together a cake, where you alternate adding the flour and the liquid. I figured that would lead to a softer cookie, and that certainly is the case. My cookies didn’t crack all that much, a little bit as they cooled, which would have made for a prettier cookie. I think this cookies do a fine job of conveying the flavors of eggnog, and the nutmeg sugar on the outside of the cookies give them a little extra punch.

Eggnog Snickerdoodles

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon rum

1 cup eggnog

4 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Meat on medium until light. Add the egg and the rum and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar. With the mixer running on low, add a third of the flour mixture, then half of the eggnog. Add another third of the flour mixture, the remaining eggnog, and finish with the last third of the flour mixture. The dough will be sticky.

In a small bowl, stir together the 1/3 cup sugar and nutmeg. Shape the dough into 1-1/4” balls and roll the balls in the nutmeg/sugar mixture. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies are set and lightly browned along the edges. Allow The cookies to cool on the baking sheets for at least 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Let’s Dish

Eggnog Biscotti

The theme for this month’s What’s Baking challenge is biscotti. While I was really pleased with the croissants that I baked for the last challenge, I was really glad to have a recipe that wasn’t quite so challenging. I have made biscotti before, and while it isn’t my favorite type of cookie, I like making biscotti. There are so many possible flavors, and for this challenge I decided to make eggnog biscotti, since it’s so close to Christmas.

This is a pretty classic recipe for biscotti, in that you shape the dough, bake it, then slice and bake again. The dough is quite sticky, probably from the eggnog, so that was the true challenge of this recipe. They contain eggnog, rum, and nutmeg, so they have a good eggnog flavor. I hate when I make something “eggnog” that doesn’t taste like eggnog! Thanks to Coleen from The Redhead Baker for hosting this month. I had a lot of fun baking these cookies. 

Eggnog Biscotti

½ cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

½ cup eggnog

2 teaspoons rum

3¼ cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon rum

2-3 tablespoons eggnog

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat. 

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar and eggs on medium until combined. Add the eggnog and rum and mix on medium to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Mix until the flour is fully mixed in.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and divide into 2 halves. Shape each half into a log about 14 inches long and about ½” thick. Transfer each log to the prepared baking sheet, allowing a couple of inches between each log.

Bake for 25 minutes. Cool the logs on a wire rack for 10 minutes. (Leave the oven on.)

Cut each partially cooled log into ½ to ¾ inch slices. Place cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, turning the cookies over half way though the baking time. Allow to cool completely before glazing.

Make the glaze: in a medium bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, rum, and 2 tablespoons eggnog. If the glaze is too thick, add additional eggnog. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

Recipe from Home Cooking Memories